Despite what a Twitter troll would have you believe, legendary Canadian author Alice Munro is not dead.
Fans of the Nobel Prize-winning short story writer (Dear Life, The View From Castle Rock) were shocked on Monday morning after seeing two tweets, which appeared to be from publisher McClelland Stewart, saying that Munro had died at the age of 88, the National Post reports.
“URGENT. McClellandStewart and Random House Canada announces the death of greatest short story writer Alice Munro, Nobel Prize in Literature for 2013,” the tweets read. “Sheila Munro officially confirms the news of the death of her mother Alice Munro. A press announcement to be released soon.”
And then, just after the second tweet, came language familiar to Book Twitter users: “This account is hoax created by Italian journalist Tommasso Debenedetti.”
Whether Debenedetti is actually the hoaxer in question is debatable — the journalist, who frequently has trolled Twitter in the past with fake news about authors dying, spells his first name with one “s,” not two.
Anyway, the important thing is that Munro is not dead, a fact that her admirers celebrated on Twitter:
Alice Munro is apparently alive and well! In celebration, I'm off to write this snowy morning. Love to all except internet hoaxers. 💙
— Kathy Fish (@kathyfish) November 11, 2019
i am suing that fake account for emotional damages for briefly making me think Alice Munro died
— Brandy Jensen (@BrandyLJensen) November 11, 2019
Today is an excellent day to visit an independent bookstore and buy some Alice Munro - or ask the staff what they'd recommend to an AM lover looking to discover new writers. Don't let trolls get the last laugh. https://t.co/vfESHhIRO3
— Vanessa Chiasson (@SculptSocial) November 11, 2019
Michael Schaub is an Austin, Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.